10 September 2015 Insurance

Gable boosted by European growth; profits hit by reserving

Rapid European expansion helped Gable Holdings, the European non-life insurance company, to grow swifty in the first half of 2015 though increased overheads and substantial reserve provisions hit its pre-tax profits.

The company’s gross written premiums (GWP) increased to £51.7 million in the first half, a 33 percent increase on the £39 million it posted in the same period a year earlier on the back of rapid growth including in Europe where it started writing Italian fleet motor business and signed a quota share agreement with Swiss Re on new Danish commercial account in H1.

It made a pre-tax loss of £2.4 million in the period compared with a profit of £2.5 million a year earlier but stressed its underlying insurance profit improved by 11 percent to £6.3 million. It said its underlying profit before tax was £1.4 million compared with £4.9 million a year earlier, which included an additional reserve set-aside of £3.8 million (H1 2014: £2.4 million, Full year 2014 £6.3 million), which relates to 2012 and prior provisions.

“The results reflect continuing progress to eliminate the historical reserving gap entirely in H2 2015,” the company said.

William Dewsall, chief executive of Gable Holdings, said: “I am pleased to report continued strong growth in the first half of the year driven by our bespoke products provided through our expanding European wide distribution channels.

“Although the economic environment in general remains challenging, I believe we have excellent momentum and can foresee continued expansion supported by our European broker network. The fundamentals of our business are sound and underpin our optimism and growth ambitions for the future.”

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